Here's 2 Us
by underwaterbasketweaving
Summary: After agreeing that they were going in different directions, Beck and Jade decided to break up after graduation. Now 22, Beck is finally making it in the movie industry as a writer thanks to his sponsor, who's the biggest producer in SF and the father of his girlfriend. But when his old friends come back into his life, he may be forced to choose between his career and his heart.
1. Chapter 1

"Where are you?!"

Although there were only four other people on the bus, and he was hunched in a row by himself near the front, Beck was pretty sure that everyone on the city block could hear the voice through his phone. "I'm on the bus. I'm just up the street," he said in a low voice, glancing around at the other passengers.

"Oh my god, I literally told you I'd send a car over, Beck. You should've just come with me and not made me show up to my own party alone."

"Brie, I told you I wasn't gonna be back in time to come with you," Beck sighed. "Look–the bus is stopping right now. I'll be there in a minute."

"Good. Hurry up," Brie snapped. Beck heard the line go dead and pulled the phone from his ear, sighing with relief. A moment later, the bus pulled to a stop. Beck got up, thanked the driver, and got off.

Music pumped out of the club, even though it was three blocks away. He started down the sidewalk quickly, only pausing in front of a dark store window to straighten the shiny purple tie over his gray pinstriped shirt.

Beck approached the club entrance and squinted as he was nearly blinded by the wall of paparazzi cameras. He bypassed the long line outside and the sign that read "GUESTS ONLY," and walked up the purple carpet to the large bouncer outside.

"Hey, Mike," Beck said. The bald man looked up from his clipboard and grinned.

"Beck, my man. Go on in. Miss Brielle's been waiting for you," he said, gesturing to the door. Beck thanked him and pulled the door open.

At the end of the hall, a pretty girl in a short purple dress and silver heels was waiting, furiously tapping at her PearPhone. She looked up when the door opened and shoved her phone into her clutch purse.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up and grabbing Beck by the arm.

"Hello to you, too," he muttered. Brie Weston narrowed her eyes and looked him up and down.

"At least you got the tie color right," she said. She flipped her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder and pulled Beck through another set of double doors. They entered a dimly lit room with tall round tables and a full bar. A huge banner over one wall read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIE!" in silver letters. Balloons stemmed from the center of every table, and Beck could hear the bass pumping from the doorway on the far side of the room, where he assumed the dance floor was. He followed her around the room, greeting people he didn't know and shaking hands with people he knew he'd forget.

After what seemed like hours of smiling and introducing himself as "Brie's boyfriend," they stopped at a table near the center of the room. "Do you want a drink?" he asked Brie as she set her purse on the table.

"Sure," she said. "But hurry back, there's someone I want you to meet." Beck raised his eyebrows and headed toward the bar, wondering who else he could possibly need to meet. When he returned, he saw that Brie was talking with a tall, middle-aged man with dark, curly hair.

"Ooh, here he is! This is my boyfriend, Beck Oliver," Brie squealed. The man turned and held out his hand. "Beck, this is–"

" _Jeremy Daniels?_ " Beck nearly dropped the two glasses he was holding. He set them on the table and wiped his now-sweaty palm on his slacks before taking the man's outstretched hand.

"The one and only," the man laughed. "Pleasure to meet you, Beck."

"T–the pleasure is all mine, sir!" Beck exclaimed. "I'm a huge fan of your work. You've been a huge inspiration to me since I was in high school. I–"

Jeremy laughed. "Brie has been telling me. I'm a fan of yours, too, actually," he said. "That short film you wrote last summer? Brilliant. I am very excited to see what you come up with next."

"Wow, thank you so much, sir, this is an honor," Beck said, running his hand through his hair out of habit. "Actually, I'm writing a movie script right now, and if you have time, I'd love to get some feedback. I know you're busy with your work as a writer, too, but if you want–"

"Daddy's producing the film!" Brie interjected. "He thinks it'll be a hit!"

"Well, your father is hardly ever wrong when it comes to hit movies," Jeremy replied. "His production company has turned dozens of my scripts into Oscars, after all." He turned back to Beck. "I'd love to see what you've got so far and give you feedback, Beck. Shoot me an email. Brie can give you my personal."

"That sounds great, sir!" Beck said. "Thank you so much."

"My pleasure. You two had better get back to the party, so I won't keep you any longer," Jeremy said, stepping away from the table. "Happy birthday, Brie. Beck–I'll be waiting to hear from you." He waved and disappeared into the crowd. Brie turned to Beck and folded her arms.

"Am I the best girlfriend ever?" she asked, smirking at Beck's still-awestruck face.

"I can't believe you got my hero to come to your party and agree to work with me," he said, staring in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, even on _my_ birthday, I'm still generous!" Brie said.

"This is crazy," Beck said, half to himself. He shoved his hands into his hair.

"Okay, okay, you can fangirl about it later," Brie said. "Again, it's _my_ birthday. Come on, let's go dance."

* * *

 **AN: Hello! This is the first fic I've ever published, and I'd appreciate any feedback/opinions you may have. I'm open to ideas, criticism, thoughts, etc. I'll update as much as I can :) Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Beck clicked the brightness button on his laptop vigorously, but all he could see was his own rumpled reflection on the screen. He groaned and looked over his shoulder at the sunlight streaming in from the giant window in the living room. After deciding that it was too far to go to close the shades, he closed his computer and got off his stool to get more coffee. The large black rottweiler curled up by the sofa raised its head sleepily and watched as his slippered feet moved around the counter into the kitchen.

As he filled his fourth cup of the morning, his phone began buzzing against the granite countertop. Beck set his mug down and glanced at the screen, his brow furrowing slightly. He pressed answer and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Beck! Still remember my name?" A smile split over his face at the sound of the voice.

"Tori Vega. Wow, it's been forever. How have you been?"

"Not bad at all! And you? I hear you're the next up-and-coming young writer on the Pacific Coast, Mister. How's that feel?"

Beck chuckled. "I wouldn't say that exactly. I've had a lot of help getting here. But yeah, work's finally going, so it's pretty good."

"Pretty good? Are you not writing the script for a huge new movie?" Tori exclaimed.

"Alright, yeah, that's more than pretty good," Beck laughed. "What have you been up to?"

"Well, I'm actually on the road right now."

"You're on tour? How come you haven't come to the Bay Area? And more importantly, how come you haven't sent me complimentary tickets?"

Tori giggled. "I'm actually opening for Jade's tour. We're at our last stop, back in L.A. for the next couple days."

"Wow, you and Jade on tour together? Who would have thought, huh?" Beck asked, remembering the rocky relationship the two girls had back in high school.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy how things worked out. But hey, at least she tolerates me now. Sometimes she even introduces me as 'my friend, Vega.'"

"Hey, that's progress from how she used to describe you in high school," Beck said. "How is she nowadays? I assume touring is going well?"

"Yeah, she's good. Pretty much the same Jade we all know and love." Tori paused for a moment. "Hey–I know you two haven't really talked since you broke up after graduation, but we're actually gonna be heading up to the San Fran area for a week to play a few gigs and hang out."

"Oh, wow! We should meet up!" Beck heard Tori sigh with relief.

"I'm so glad you said that!" she said. "I wasn't sure if it would be weird to hang out with your ex after so long..."

"Nah, don't worry," Beck replied. "There's no reason why Jade and I can't be cool now. It's been years since we broke up, and plus it was mutual."

"Great!" Tori said. "I'll text you the details of our trip. Maybe you can show us around your city."

"Yeah, I'd love to. It was great hearing your voice, Tori," Beck said.

"Yours too, Beck. I'll be in touch!"

"Alright, sounds good. Bye."

"Bye!"

Beck set his phone back on the counter and flopped down on the couch. A strange feeling of excitement now washed over him, waking him up more than all the coffee he'd drunk that morning. He was finally going to see Tori and Jade again, after four years of barely talking. Memories of Hollywood Arts filled his head.

" _SMILE!"_

 _The camera clicked, and everyone relaxed and looked at each other._

" _I can't believe we just graduated high school," Robbie said as the gang got off the stage._

" _We actually graduated ten minutes ago, Rob," Andre said, grinning._

" _Yeah, but taking a group photo seemed to solidify it more than getting diplomas," Robbie replied. Cat fell in step beside him and slipped her hand into his._

" _I'm gonna be so sad to leave this place!" she said, her lips forming a pout._

" _We all are, Cat," Tori assured her. "But we'll keep in touch, right guys?" The group nodded and murmured in agreement._

" _I'm just gonna focus on enjoying this summer before college," Andre said. "Andre needs some chillaxing time."_

" _We all know you're just gonna be writing music the whole time," Jade said. Beck threw his arm around her shoulders and laughed._

" _Yeah, call us in August when you're famous, Andre," he said. The gang walked out to the parking lot, where other students were congregating and exchanging tearful goodbyes._

" _Maybe, but right now I just wanna party. We all in?" Andre said, looking at his friends._

" _Count us in!" Cat said, squeezing Robbie's arm. Tori nodded enthusiastically. The group turned to Beck and Jade._

" _What about y'all?" Andre asked. Beck shrugged._

" _We might catch up with you guys later," he said._

" _Okay, but don't forget–we're all meeting at my house on Saturday so we can drive to my uncle's resort in San Diego," Tori said._

" _Yay! Road trip!" Cat squealed._

" _Yep, we'll be there," Beck said. "See you guys later."_

 _The group dispersed to their different cars. Beck and Jade got into his truck and pulled out of the parking lot, waving to their friends._

 _A few minutes later, they pulled over at a lookout spot in the hills. Jade grabbed a couple blankets from the back seat, and they both got out and snuggled up in the bed of the truck, watching the stars._

" _I can't believe it's over," Beck said, his hand absentmindedly stroking Jade's hair._

" _I didn't think I'd miss high school," Jade responded. "Or the losers in it." Beck chuckled, his chest moving under Jade's cheek._

" _What happens next?" Beck asked._

" _I thought you always know the answer to that," Jade said. She shifted so that her face was next to his._

" _I guess I didn't plan this far ahead," Beck said. He turned his face towards hers and pecked her nose._

" _Well, I did. You're gonna go become a famous actor and I'm gonna be a singer, or an actress, I don't know. But we're both gonna be freaking rich and live it up and see the world," Jade said._

" _Together?"_

" _Maybe, as long as I don't find anyone better," she replied. Beck smiled and pulled her closer to his chest, breathing in the scent of shampoo from her curls._

They never made it to the party that night. They'd stayed cuddled in the back of his truck until it got cold, and then they spent the night on the floor of Beck's RV, watching re-runs of _Drake and Josh._

Beck looked around his apartment thoughtfully. This was definitely an upgrade from the RV he'd spent his high school years living in, but he hadn't known what he was missing until he'd actually had regular access to continuous running water and more than one room of living space. He reached for his now lukewarm coffee and took a sip, then made his way back around the kitchen counter.

He stooped down to scratch his dog behind her ears. "Back to work, Bells."

* * *

 **AN: Hey again! I decided to go ahead and post the first two chapters at once, just to get the story rolling a little more. You've met Brie, Beck's _lovely_ girlfriend, but now you'll get to see your old faves, Tori and Jade! They'll be there in person the next chapter, I promise :P Stay tuned, and please let me know what you think so far! xx**


	3. Chapter 3

Jade leaned closer to the mirror, her breath fogging it slightly. After months of letting her make-up team prepare her for shows, she was out of practice. She finished her eyeliner, deciding that it was as good as it would be tonight. She heard a knock at the bathroom door.

"Come in," she called, leaning back and adjusting her curled hair in the mirror. Tori cracked the door open and peeked in.

"Hey, I just needed to grab my hairbrush," the brunette said, stepping around Jade.

"It's cool," Jade murmured, pursing her lips as she stared at her reflection. She reached up and took the two articles of clothing hanging from the shower curtain bar. She held both up in front of her and turned to Tori, who was clipping her earrings.

"What do you think? Red plaid top, or blue cropped sweater?" she asked. Tori looked at her in mild surprise.

"Wow, you never ask me for fashion advice," she responded, grinning.

"Okay, fine, nevermind," Jade snapped, rolling her eyes. She turned to leave the bathroom.

"Wait, Jade, I was kidding," Tori said hurriedly. "But it's true, you never ask for my opinion. I'd say red plaid, though."

Jade looked at the garments in her hands and sighed. "You don't think it's too casual? Or too...not casual?" Tori raised her eyebrows.

"No..." she replied slowly. "What's the big deal? It's just Beck, and it's not like this is a date or anything."

Jade nodded. "True, but he's my ex and I haven't seen him in a long time. I guess I'm kinda nervous." She threw the blue sweater top over the shower bar again and put her arms through the sleeves of the red button down. "Unbuttoned or buttoned?" she asked.

"Unbuttoned," Tori said. She watched as Jade arranged the black tank top under her shirt over her black jeans. "So..." she said. "Do you...still have feelings for Beck?" Jade looked at Tori warningly. "I'm just wondering!" Tori said, taking a slight step back.

"No," Jade said shortly. Then, after a moment, "It was a long time ago. We've both moved on, and I'm glad we can just chill as friends now, ya know?" She'd had one-night stands with plenty of guys while on the road, and had only had one serious relationship since Beck that she broke off before the tour.

Tori nodded thoughtfully. "Cool," she said.

"What about you?" Jade asked as she reached for her makeup bag.

"What do you mean?"

Jade stopped halfway through applying lipstick and looked Tori in the eye. "You know what I mean. We all knew you had feelings for him. I probably would have hated you a little less if you hadn't."

Tori blinked. "Oh. Well, I mean... yeah, I was attracted to him. But I never wanted to date him or anything, mainly 'cause you were dating him, and then 'cause I didn't wanna date your ex," she explained awkwardly.

Jade shrugged. "Whatever, it's fine now," she said. She finished her makeup and snapped her bag shut. "Come on. I'll call an Uber."


	4. Chapter 4

"You're unbelievable."

Beck blinked. "Sorry, what? _I'm_ unbelievable?" He stared up in disbelief at his girlfriend. She folded her arms over her strapless blue dress and narrowed her eyes.

" _Yes_ ," Brie snapped. "I can't believe you're blowing me off to hang out with some losers you haven't talked to in years!"

Beck leaned back on the sofa. "Those 'losers' are some of my best friends from high school. And it's _because_ I haven't seen them in years that I want to hang out with them!"

"That's honestly so pathetic," Brie scoffed. "You should remember how lucky you are that I'm even inviting you out tonight, Beck. Without me, you'd literally have no social life."

"I don't even ca–okay, look," Beck said, deciding it wasn't worth arguing anymore. "I'm sorry, but I made other plans tonight. And we go clubbing all the time, Brie."

"So are you saying it's boring now?" Brie demanded. "You just wanna stop going because you go 'all the time?'" Beck put his hands together and took a breath.

"No," he said slowly. "I'm just saying that if I don't go tonight it won't stop you from having a good time."

Brie blinked at him, then shook her head. "Whatever," she muttered, taking out her phone and beginning to type vigorously. Beck stood up.

"Look, babe, you're welcome to stay and meet them. They're really cool, and they'll be here in like ten minutes–"

"Just forget it," Brie said, taking a step back, her eyes still angrily locked onto her phone screen. Beck watched as she slipped her phone into her clutch purse and stalked towards the door, grabbing her coat from the counter. She didn't look back as she wrenched the door open and slammed it shut.

Beck sighed and flopped back on the couch, rubbing his face. After a moment, he heard a distinct knock on his front door. He sat up quickly, wincing as his vision blurred for a second, and straightened his long-sleeved shirt before making his way towards the door. Bells stirred but did not move from her place in the corner of the room.

He opened the door and grinned at the two girls standing in the hall.

"Was that Brie Weston in the lobby?" Tori Vega asked immediately. Beck raised his eyebrows.

"Hello to you, too," he said, pulling her in for a hug. Jade smirked behind Tori.

"Hope we weren't interrupting anything," she said as she reached over to give Beck a hug. He chuckled and moved aside to let them in.

"Nah, it's fine," he said. "It's good that she probably she didn't recognize you two on her way out, though. She might have murdered you both before you had a chance to get in the elevator."

"Hmph. Nothing I couldn't handle," Jade said.

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure she gave us the side-eye before she almost smacked the doorman with the door," Tori laughed.

"Sounds like her," Beck said. He threw his arm out dramatically. "Anyways, welcome a mi casa." Tori and Jade glanced around the apartment in awe.

"Dang, Beck, this is a really nice place," Jade said approvingly, moving towards the sofa.

"Yeah, and the view is incredible," Tori said. "Definitely an upgrade from where you lived in high school." She caught sight of Bells lying by the couch and bent down to scratch her behind the ears.

"That's Bells," Beck said, watching Tori pet his dog adoringly.

"Hi, Bells!" Tori cooed. Jade reached down to pet her.

"You did always say you wanted a dog," she noted, smiling.

"She's a lot less aggressive than the one you guys tried to give me in high school," Beck chuckled. Both girls winced at the memory. Jade stood up and brushed off her hands.

"You rent this place? Must be a steep price, especially with this view of the city," she commented, sitting down on the sofa and slipping her boots off.

"Yeah, it's not too bad," Beck replied. "Brie's dad actually owns the building and gives me a pretty good discount."

"Wow, perks," Jade said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to afford this place on your own, full-price."

"Yeah, oh my gosh!" Tori exclaimed, plopping down beside Jade. "Tell us about your movie!"

"Oh, right," Beck said, laughing. "But first, I'm gonna order some food. You guys hungry?"

"Starving," Tori said. "I've been craving sushi."

"Way ahead of you," Beck said, pulling out his phone and dialing quickly. "Be warned, though-this place is _way_ better than Nozu."

* * *

Later that night, the three of them sat cross-legged on the floor of Beck's living room, reminiscing about their days in high school.

"You were so scared, you literally peed your pants, Tori," Beck laughed. Tori nearly choked on her tuna roll.

"Look," she said with her mouth full, "Sikowitz was insane!"

"Was?" Jade snorted. "I'm pretty sure he's still scaring the kids at Hollywood Arts to this day."

"Maybe, but the man's a gift," Beck said. "Best teacher I've ever had, hands down."

"That's definitely true," Tori agreed.

"Didn't you think he was homeless when you first saw him?" Jade asked.

"Do you really blame me?" Tori said defensively, reaching for a soy sauce packet.

"No," Beck and Jade said at the same time. They looked each other, grinning, and all three of them burst out laughing.

Tori reached for her phone on the coffee table and set her plate down. "Dang, it's already eleven," she said. "I didn't realize it was this late."

"Vega still has a bedtime," Jade teased.

"Hey, I've been touring with you for three months!" Tori objected. "And you _always_ insisted on getting burgers at one in the morning!"

"I know some pretty good burger joints around here, too," Beck said.

"God, no," Jade said. "I'm so full. And you're right, this is so much better than Nozu sushi." Tori nodded in agreement.

"Well, the food in the Bay is pretty great. And that's coming from a guy who grew up with LA food," Beck said.

"We'd better get back," Tori said after a while. She stood up and brushed off her jeans. "Thanks for the food, Beck."

"No problem, it was great to see you both," Beck replied. "So what else are you guys planning to do while you're in SF?"

"We did want to go clubbing," Jade voiced, setting her plate down and grabbing her jacket. "Know any good places?"

"For sure," Beck said as the girls made their way to the door. "We can go tomorrow night, if you want. There's a place a couple blocks from here, actually. They do karaoke, too."

"Sounds awesome!" Tori exclaimed. She threw her arms around Beck. "See you tomorrow then!"

"Thanks again, Beck," Jade said, smiling. He grinned back at her.

"Anytime," he said, opening the door. "See you guys tomorrow."

* * *

 **AN: Hello! I decided to post 2 chapters at one time because Ch 3 was kinda short. Please review and let me know what you think so far, and if you have any suggestions! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Beck glanced down at his phone screen. He had twelve missed calls and forty text messages. His phone vibrated as another message popped up. And another. And another.

 _ **Brie Weston: WHERE ARE YOU?**_

 _ **Brie Weston: BECK**_

 _ **Brie Weston: ANSWER YOUR PHONE OMFG**_

He looked up as a shot glass was placed in front of him on the counter.

"Everything okay?" Tori asked, sliding into the stool next to him. Beck turned his phone off and shoved it into his pocket.

"Yup," he said, smiling before clinking shot glasses with her. The both downed their drinks quickly. "Where's Jade?" he asked.

"On the dance floor, I think," Tori said, signaling for another drink from the bartender. A second later, a tray of six shots was placed between them. Beck raised his eyebrows. Tori caught his eye as she downed a second shot. "What?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Nothing." Beck shook his head and chuckled to himself. "You just never seemed like the type to drink in high school."

"Well, we're not in high school anymore, are we?" Tori pointed out, offering him another shot. He took it and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

"Fair point," he responded. "So how was the tour?"

"It was great!" Tori said enthusiastically. "I mean, I've always wanted to tour–ever since I got into Hollywood Arts, at least. So when Jade asked me it was like a dream come true."

"You gonna have your own tour anytime soon?" Beck asked. "You'd better include some Bay Area dates."

"That's the goal," Tori said, shrugging. Just then, the music stopped.

"Alright, alright!" the DJ said from his platform by the stage. "Who's ready for KARAOKE?"

The crowd whooped and clapped. "First up," continued the DJ, "is an up and coming pop star. You might know her–she just finished touring. Give it up for Jade!" Jade walked confidently onto the stage and grinned at her friends at the bar as the music started.

 _Someday I'll let you in,_

 _Treat you right,_

 _Drive you outta your mind, oooh_

 _You never met a chick like me_

 _Burn so bright,_

 _I'm gonna make you blind_

Beck cheered as Jade sang the opening lines to a song they all knew well. Tori looked down at the glass in her hand.

"Something wrong?" Beck asked.

"I don't know," Tori sighed, blowing her hair out of her face. "I mean... I'm super happy for Jade and the fact that she's so successful. And I was stoked that she even thought to ask me to join her on tour. I just wish those crowds were there for me, too, you know? Opening a tour for another artist can be rough, because people aren't paying all that money to actually see you. Sometimes I don't know if anyone's actually listening to my songs."

 _Always want what you can't have_

 _Is it so bad if you don't get what you wanted?_

 _Make you feel good_

 _As I whip you into shape,_

 _Yeah, boy, let's get it started!_

"I'm sure that's not true," Beck said. He reached over and rubbed Tori's shoulder sympathetically. "I've heard your songs. They're great."

"Thanks."

 _Give it up,_

 _You can't win,_

 _'Cause I know where you've been_

 _Such a shame you don't put up a fight_

 _That's a game that we play_

 _At the end of the night_

 _It's the same old story_

 _But you never get it right_

 _Give it up_

Beck furrowed his brow and reached out, turning Tori's chin so that she was looking at him. "Hey, the tour's over now. And you're still young. You're just getting started in this industry, and you've got plenty of time to develop your own person and sound, and when you do, people are gonna love it, okay?"

 _Come a little closer, baby, baby_

 _Come a little closer_

 _Come a little closer, baby, baby_

 _So, stop trying to walk away_

 _No, you won't ever leave me behind, no_

 _You better believe that I'm here to stay._

 _'Cause you're the shade and I'm the sunshine._

Tori smiled, her cheeks pink. "Thanks, Beck. That really means a lot." Beck ruffled her hair slightly.

"You'll be fine," he said. Tori leaned closer to him.

"You always know just what to say," she said. "I really missed you, Beck. It sucks that we didn't keep in touch as often as we said we would..."

"Yeah, I missed you guys, too. Do you still talk to any of the others?"

 _Look at me, boy_

 _'Cause I got you_

 _Where I want you_

 _Isn't it so exciting?_

 _Will it shake you_

 _When I break you?_

 _Take a backseat, boy_

 _'Cause now I'm driving_

"I still text Cat sometimes. I think she's in _Wicked_ on Broadway right now," Tori said. She bit her lip thoughtfully. "Andre's in Florida making an album. Last time I heard from Robbie he was still in school in L.A., but he was talking about transferring to NYU, I think. Do you talk to any of them?"

"Andre and I still talk," Beck replied. "That's kind of it... I feel bad, but it's pretty hard to stay close when everyone' so spread out."

 _Give it up_

 _You can't win_

 _'Cause I know where you've been_

 _Such a shame you don't put up a fight_

 _That's a game that we play_

 _At the end of the night_

 _It's the same old story_

 _But you never get it right_

 _Give it up_

The two paused to cheer for their friend as she bowed and hopped off the stage.

"That song certainly brings back memories," Beck noted.

"Does it?" Tori asked, trying to remember.

Beck laughed. "Maybe not for you. She and Cat sang that at that Karaoke club in LA when we were in high school... I think you were babysitting Trina?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, that was when she got her wisdom teeth out. I remember now. That was horrible."

"I know," Beck nodded. "Every time someone says 'wisdom teeth' I get flashbacks." As Tori opened her mouth to respond, Beck felt a tap on his shoulder. Jade was standing behind him, smirking. Her hair was slightly disheveled from performing, but her eyes were full of energy.

"Hey, you were great!" Beck said.

"Thanks! You should come dance!" Jade shouted over the music, pulling him off the bar stool. Beck grabbed another shot from the counter and offered it to her. Jade downed it and turned to Tori. "You coming?"

"No, I'm good," Tori said, not making eye contact. Jade shrugged and grabbed Beck's hand as they made their way onto the floor.

The club was reasonably full for a Wednesday night, and they found themselves pressed tightly together. Jade put her arms around Beck's neck and swayed to the pulsing beat as his hands found her waist. They moved to each other's rhythms naturally. Beck felt a rush through his body that he hadn't felt in a long time. Jade spun around so that her back was to him, and began moving against his hips, and her hands found their way to his hair. He held her hips, very conscious that sliding his hands only a few inches lower would result in skin on skin contact.

The song slowed down slightly and transitioned into another track. Jade moved out of Beck's arms and turned to face him, flipping her hair behind her. "That was fun," she breathed.

"Yeah," Beck responded, but it came out a lot huskier than he'd anticipated.

Jade gave a breathy laugh. "Been a while."

Beck nodded. It hadn't been a while since he'd danced, but certainly since he'd felt like that while dancing. After a moment, Jade broke the gaze and glanced towards the bar. She gestured for Beck to follow as she pushed through the crowd to get back to the counter.

Tori was surrounded by three other guys. She had a glass in her hand, and Jade eyed the two empty glasses next to her, and the abundance of empty shot glasses strewn over the counter. The men seemed to be talking to Tori, and she leaned so far forward to whisper something to one of them that she slipped off the stool and landed in his lap. The guy grinned up at his other friends before sliding his arm around Tori's waist to keep her from falling to the floor.

Jade stepped forward and hooked her arm through Tori's, pulling her out of the guy's grip. "Sorry, boys, gotta get home," she said cooly. Beck reached around and slung Tori's other arm around his shoulders to support her. The men made their protests, and Jade stomped her high heel into one's shoe, eliciting a yelp of pain that would barely be heard over the music, if not for how high-pitched it was. Beck and Jade half-dragged, half-carried Tori out of the club and leaned her against the wall outside while Jade called for a ride.

The three stumbled into Jade and Tori's hotel room and managed to get Tori down the hall to the master bedroom. Beck rubbed his sore arms as Jade tucked her in and ushered him out of the room.

"Thanks," she sighed, kicking her heels off by the couch.

"No problem," Beck said.

"I told her I was taking the bed, but I guess she can have it tonight since she's so drunk she might roll off the couch," Jade said drily.

"Well, you can always crash at my place if you want," Beck said. "There's a guest room."

"I'm good, but thanks," Jade replied. She paused, then moved towards him and hugged him. "Tonight was fun."

"Yeah, it was," Beck said, wrapping his arms around her. "Let me know what you guys are planning to do tomorrow. Besides nursing hangovers."

"Hah, for sure," Jade answered, pulling away from him. "Goodnight, Beck."

"Goodnight, Jade."


	6. Chapter 6

Beck rolled over, trying not to wake the sleeping girl beside him. He lifted his phone from the bedside table and tapped the home button. The light of the screen left his eyes burning, but he managed to make out the time it displayed. _5:12 am._

"Damn," he muttered, turning back over. He stared up at the ceiling, listening to Brie's even breathing. He'd gotten no sleep since he'd arrived back at his apartment that night.

 _Beck took an Uber from the hotel to his apartment complex and stumbled through his own door around one in the morning. He wasn't drunk, but his head was still spinning. Brie was waiting in his living room, her phone clutched in her hand. She jumped up from the couch, demanding him to explain himself._

 _He stared at her for a minute, then grabbed her face in his hands and crashed his lips against hers, cutting her off. She froze for a second, then threw her phone onto the couch and kissed back with equal passion, throwing her arms around his neck, all angry thoughts virtually forgotten. She hoisted her legs up around his waist and he carried her, kissing furiously, to his bedroom._

Why had he done that? He'd been avoiding her affection for weeks. Beck turned his head slightly to look at her. Her blonde hair was a mess around her face, but she was still gorgeous as she slept. Only Beck felt nothing when he looked at her now.

He knew why he'd done it. He wanted to prove to himself that he didn't still have feelings for Jade. If anything, it only made him realize how much he'd missed Jade for the four years they'd been apart. Brie was good, but she never made him _feel_ anything. He'd felt more dancing with Jade for five minutes than two years dating Brie Weston.

But what about Tori? He'd always had a spark with her, too. Even back in high school, even when he was with Jade. They'd almost kissed–twice–while he wasn't dating Jade. Hell, they'd kissed the day after he first met her.

He thought back to the summer after they'd all graduated from Hollywood Arts. He and Jade had never ended going on that road trip to San Diego. They'd gotten in a fight about something he couldn't remember anymore, and she'd stormed out of his RV in angry tears. He'd texted the group saying he wouldn't make the trip. The next day they all saw Jade's post on theSlap: she'd flown to Seattle to stay with some family for the weekend. Robbie, Andre, Cat, Trina, and Tori went on the trip anyway. Jade returned to Los Angeles a week later, drove from the airport directly to Beck's house, and broke up with him on his doorstep. Later that summer, Beck and Jade had met up again for coffee. They made up but didn't get back together. They'd both agreed that it was right for them to end it then.

But it didn't _feel_ right anymore. Beck wished he was back in high school. He wished he had Jade in his arms. He wished for Tori's comforting smile. He wished for something, anything...real.


	7. Chapter 7

Beck shielded his eyes as he looked up the tall glass tower, the word WESTON reflecting sunlight in all directions.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Brie asked, her smile dazzling as she followed Beck's gaze up the side of the building. "Daddy had the sign put in a couple days ago. I thought it would be bigger, but it still looks pretty."

"Yeah, it's nice," Beck said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible as Brie squeezed his hand so tightly he thought he was losing circulation in his fingers.

"Just wait until you see the lobby," Brie gushed. "Daddy put up posters of his biggest stars." She tugged Beck forward, making him stumble forward and almost lose his grip on his messenger bag. They hurried through the glass doors, and skidded to a halt before the front desk. Behind the desk was an enormous poster of a blonde girl, pursing her lips at the camera in a model-pout.

"Wow," was all Beck said. Brie giggled.

"Didn't realize your girlfriend was a superstar here?" she teased, grinning up at the blown-up photo of herself. Beck raised his eyebrows.

 _Never would have guessed_ , he thought to himself. _It's not like your dad owns this company, or anything._ Instead, however, he smiled at her. "I'm really proud of you," he told her. Brie pecked his cheek.

"I know, baby, I know," she sighed, admiring her poster once more before dragging Beck towards the elevators. They emerged on the thirtieth floor, and got onto another elevator that could only be accessed by Brie's keycard. They stepped out into the hall, five floors higher than the normal elevator reached, the clicking of Brie's heels echoing off the marble floors. Two security guards stood in front of a large set of double doors, and stepped aside in perfect unison when Brie and Beck approached. Brie threw open the doors to her father's office and marched inside.

"Daddy! I–oops! Are you busy? I'm sooo sorry, we can come back later," Brie squealed. She stopped so abruptly that Beck almost crashed into her.

The balding man sitting at the desk across from the door looked up from his computer. His face broke into an adoring smile when he saw Brie, and he stood up and brushed off his suit. "Not at all, sweetheart," Mr. Weston said. He turned and smiled warmly at Beck. "How are you today, Beck?"

"I'm good, sir, thanks," Beck said, reaching over to shake Mr. Weston's hand. "I actually just wanted to stop by and drop my updated script off at the producer's office–"

"But I wanted to stop in and see you, Daddy!" Brie interrupted. Mr. Weston stepped out from behind his desk and kissed his daughter on the head.

"Well, that was very sweet of you, Brie. Beck, I think Mr. Tyler is out for the day, but you can go ahead and drop it off at his secretary's desk," he said. Mr. Weston gazed at them, smiling. "It's so lovely to see you two together. Nothing makes me happier than seeing Brie happy."

Brie giggled and threw her arms around Beck's waist. He draped his arm over her shoulders and forced himself to smile. "Beck and I are _so_ happy together," Brie declared, kissing his cheek. Mr. Weston gave his daughter a pat on the back before stepping by the couple.

"Well, thank you for stopping by. I've actually got a client heading up any moment now, so I'm afraid I'll have to cut this short," he said, opening the office door for them. Brie tugged on Beck's arm as they made their way out the door.

"See you later, Daddy!" Brie called behind her. The two got back into the elevator down the hall, then got into the normal elevator to return to the lobby. As soon as the doors closed, Brie whirled around and pressed Beck against the back wall.

"Uh...Brie?" Beck asked, confused. She ignored him, and reached up and trailed her hand down the front of his shirt. "What are you–?"

"Last night was fun," Brie whispered suddenly, cutting him off. Beck swallowed and bit his lip. "You're so hot when you do that," she cooed. Her arm snaked around his waist as she buried her other hand in Beck's hair.

Beck leaned his head back, avoiding her lips, but she took the opportunity to press them to his exposed neck. "Brie–uh, there are cameras in this elevator," he said, not daring to move too much against her.

"The guy in charge of the footage owes me," Brie replied. She pulled his arms around her, and he rested them on her hips, though he was still quite bewildered. "I've missed you. I feel like it's been forever," she whined softly.

"We–last night," Beck stammered.

"But _before_ that," Brie said. "You've been so distant lately, baby." Before he could respond, she crashed her lips against his. Beck kissed her back numbly, and there were a million thoughts racing through his mind. He felt a wave of relief crash over him when he heard the ding of the elevator. Brie detached herself from him as the doors opened, and a very embarrassed-looking woman entered, not making eye contact with either of them.

Brie fixed her make-up and hair in the reflective walls of the elevator, smirking to herself as Beck stared blankly ahead.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! Apologies for the wait; again, I just wanted to have a few more chapters to post at once. Also, writing isn't automatic! It takes a lot of time and thought. Hope you enjoy :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"JAAADEEEEEEEE!"

Jade held her phone a few inches away from her ear until the screeching stopped. "Hey, Cat," she said, smiling in spite of herself.

"WHERE ARE YOU AND WHY HAVEN'T YOU TEXTED ME IN A WEEK?" Cat screamed through the phone.

"I'm in San Francisco and...I don't know, I guess I've been busy." Jade braced herself for more screaming as Cat processed this information.

"Wait! With Beck?" Cat asked excitedly.

"Tori's here, too. But yeah, we hung out with Beck," Jade responded, blowing a lock of hair out of her face and leaning back on the hotel sofa.

"Oh my gosh! It's like a party! Why didn't you invite me?" Cat asked. Jade scoffed and shook her head. "So what did you guys do?" Cat pressed.

"We just had sushi at his place, and we went clubbing last night," Jade said. "I think he's busy working today, though. And Tori went out sight-seeing so I'm just in the hotel."

"Sushi? Is it as good as Nozu's? And how was clubbing in the Bay Area? Was there karaoke? I love karaoke! Remember when we used to go sing at karaoke places? That was so much fun! Oh my gosh, we should go again! I wonder if–"

"The sushi," Jade said loudly, cutting Cat off, "was way better than Nozu's. And yeah, there was karaoke. I actually did a song. It was kinda cool, and way more chill than a tour."

"That's amazing!" Cat said. After a moment, she said, "So...how's Beck?"

Jade rolled her eyes. She had known the question would pop up eventually. "He's good. He looks and seems pretty much the same. He's got some big movie deal right now."

"Oooh, he's acting?"

"Nah, he's writing the script, though."

"That's so cool! Tell him congrats for me!" Cat exclaimed. "But for the record, that's not what I meant."

"What?"

"Oh, come on, Jade!" Cat practically shouted. "I was asking about how things are _between_ you and Beck!"

"I really hope you're not shouting at me through the phone in public, Cat," Jade said. "And there's nothing between me and Beck–you know that. It's been years."

"Nothing at all?" Cat giggled. "Not even clothes?"

"Jesus, Cat," Jade said, but she couldn't help laughing a little. She paused, biting her lip. "I guess maybe there is a spark still," she said slowly. She heard Cat squeal and call out:

"Robbie! You owe me twenty bucks!"

"Wait, you're with Robbie?" Jade asked.

"Oh yeah! He transferred to school here in New York, so we're hanging out at his apartment. He's baking a pie, I think."

"Of course he would," Jade said. "So are you two together?"

"Well yeah, I just said we're at his apartment!"

"I meant–okay, nevermind," Jade sighed.

"Okay, back to you and Beck. Did you guys kiss?"

Jade inspected her nails. "No, we just...danced."

"Oooh," Cat said. Jade could almost picture her wiggling her eyebrows. "Wait, doesn't he have a girlfriend? A really rich one?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't seem all that happy from what I can tell. She seems like a total bitch to be honest."

"So are you gonna go for it?"

"Not unless he is. I'm not about to go ruin someone else's relationship. And besides, all I said was that there was a spark. That doesn't mean we're gonna get back together."

"Oh please, Jade. If you still have feelings for him, you should tell him. You two were the perfect couple in high school! It could happen again!" Cat said excitedly.

Jade looked down at the simple black necklace she was wearing. Beck probably hadn't noticed it when he first saw her two days ago, but it was the same one he bought her for their one-year anniversary in high school. When he'd presented it to her, she'd called him cliche for buying her jewelry. He'd shrugged and told her he didn't care, because she was worth all the cliches in the world. She'd told him she wouldn't wear it in public.

Now she wore it whenever she performed.

"No," she said after a while. "We definitely weren't the perfect couple. But we made it anyway."


	9. Chapter 9

Beck drummed his fingers on the coffee table. He looked out at the night sky from his window, listening to the drone of the ringing phone. After a moment, the ringing was cut off.

"Yo, this is Andre."

"Andre! Hey, it's Beck."

"My man, how ya been?" Andre asked.

"Well, I've been better," Beck sighed. "That's actually what I called you about. I need your advice."

"Alright, talk to me."

"So...Tori and Jade are in the Bay Area for a week. I hung out with them last night and the night before," Beck started.

"No way, I didn't know Jade's tour went to San Fran! How are they?"

"Actually, the tour's over. They just came up to chill, but yeah, they're pretty good." Beck took a sip from his water bottle.

"Let me guess–you still got feelings for Jade," Andre said. Beck spat his gulp of water onto the carpet, startling Bells, who was sleeping a few feet away.

"How did you–?" Beck asked, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"Dude. You call me, and the first thing you say is you need advice, and then you mention Tori and Jade are in town. It's not that hard to put together the pieces. I figured you probably have feelings for one of them, and Jade was my first guess," Andre explained. Beck shook his head.

"Sometimes I think you know me a little too well," he replied.

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment," Andre shot back. "So anyway, what are you gonna do about your girlfriend?"

"That's the thing," Beck said. "I...If I break up with her, there's a good chance I'll become unemployed soon after."

"Oh right, her dad kinda owns you. I forgot, 'cause I don't follow her hourly updates on Twitter," Andre said. "Man, honestly, I didn't think you'd be one to date a girl for her dad's money and power."

"I didn't," Beck retorted. "Not at first, at least. For the first year...it was really nice. When I first met her I didn't realize her dad was this powerful in San Francisco. It was only after a few months, when she learned that I was into writing and film, that she introduced me to her dad. Now that I think about it, she's basically responsible for my whole career."

"Nah, don't say that," Andre said. "She may have gotten you your first break as a writer, but you're the one who did the writing. What you've made is on you, not her."

"Yeah, I guess, but she got me the opportunities. She did so much for me. It was good for a while."

"So what changed?"

"I don't know, really," Beck said. "She...she got more famous, and I guess that made her kind of..."

"A bitch?"

"Dude!"

"Look," Andre said, "someone had to say it."

"I mean, lately she's just been completely unbearable. I thought it would pass, so I just put up with it. And then..."

"Jade," Andre finished for him.

"Yep. I guess seeing her again and just being friends without any grudges made me realize that my relationship with Brie has been nowhere as fulfilling as it was with Jade. It wasn't all bad, and I definitely did love her at one point, but the feeling isn't there anymore."

"Well, then you gotta end it, dude. You can't go through your whole career with her attached to you. She may have helped you start off, but it seems like now she's holding you back emotionally and that can't be good for your writing."

Beck ran his hand through his hair. "When did you get so wise, man?"

"It's probably because I've been stuck in the studio for three straight days," Andre replied, laughing. Beck chuckled. "But seriously," Andre continued, "you need to get out of this. It may hurt your career slightly, but by now people must know how good you are. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right..."

"Of course I am. The sooner you do it, the better," Andre said. "Then you can figure out those feelings for Jade. I gotta get back to finishing this track, but let me know how it goes."

"Thanks, Andre. You're the best."

"I know. Good luck."

Beck hung the phone up and sighed, feeling slightly more relieved. Just as he placed his phone back on the table, it buzzed violently. He saw Tori's name flash on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Beck! Are you busy?"

"No, not really. What's up?"

"It's Jade! She...she's in the hospital. Come quick!"

Beck's stomach dropped. "I'm on my way."

* * *

Beck ran up to the reception desk. The woman behind the desk looked up and smiled at him. "Hello, how can I help you?"

"I need to see–"

"Beck!"

He turned and saw Tori rushing towards him, tears in her eyes. He reached for her and hugged her tightly.

"Come on, we can't see her right now but the waiting room is over here."

"What happened?" Beck asked as they sat down in the gray waiting chairs. Tori sniffed.

"We went clubbing tonight, and I went to go dance, but Jade stayed at the bar. And when I got back, she was slumping over, like, ten different glasses. I tried to talk to her, and she just...collapsed."

"Alcohol poisoning?" Beck asked.

"It has to be," Tori said. "There wasn't really anyone else near her, besides a few couples." She put her head in her hands. "This is my fault. I should have stayed with her."

"Hey, don't blame yourself," Beck said, putting his arm around her. "How were you supposed to know she'd drink that much?"

"I mean...she'd been acting a little moody ever since I got back to the hotel in the afternoon, but I thought it was just her being her. Plus she seemed excited to go clubbing..." Tori trailed off, sniffling. Beck reached over and handed her a box of tissues.

"Look, I'm sure she'll be fine. She's tough."

"The doctor said they'll probably keep her overnight, but I didn't want to just leave, in case we were allowed to see her."

Beck nodded. "Don't worry. It'll be alright." Tori smiled up at him, her eyes still red.

"Thanks for coming, Beck," she said softly. She gripped his hand tightly.

"Of course," Beck said, smiling reassuringly at her. Tori held his gaze, then looked away nervously. "You okay?" Beck asked, his smile faltering slightly. Tori looked at him again.

"Yeah, I think so," she whispered. She leaned closer to him, and before he could process what was happening, their lips met. It took a few seconds for Beck to register the fact that he was kissing Tori, and he pulled back suddenly, his eyes wide.

"Beck...?" Tori asked. He stood up abruptly.

"I...what-why did you...?"

Tori's face fell. "I thought... I thought you and I..."

Beck shook his head. "Look, Tori, I will always love you as a friend, but... this isn't–we aren't..." He forced himself to make eye contact with her, and he saw that there were fresh tears glistening in her eyes. "I should go," Beck finished lamely. He turned on his heel and hurried past the other people in the waiting room, not waiting for a response.


	10. Chapter 10

Beck awoke to a sharp knock at his door. He stirred suddenly, causing Bells to jump off the couch where she lay curled up next to him. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way across the living room and yawned before opening the door.

"Package for Oliver, Beck?"

"That's me," Beck said sleepily, signing for the small cardboard box. "Thanks." He shut the door and set the package–probably a few books he'd ordered in the past week–on the kitchen counter before turning his coffee maker on and placing a mug in the slot.

Beck grabbed his phone from where it lay charging on the counter and opened SplashFace. He scrolled lazily through his homepage as his mug filled with coffee. After a minute he took a sip of from the steaming cup, and scrolled past something that made him choke on his beverage and slosh it down the front of his hoodie. He scrolled back up frantically and clicked on the link.

"Shit!"

* * *

Beck darted through the automatic hospital doors, his shoes squeaking off the tile floors of the hallway. He ran up to the reception desk, panting. "I'm here to see Jade West! She was admitted here last night!"

The lady behind the desk looked up from her computer slowly. "Name?"

"Beck Oliver!"

"You a family member?"

"I–no, I'm just a friend. I came to see her last night but they didn't let me in," Beck replied frantically. The woman adjusted her glasses and eyed him skeptically, taking in his messy hair and coffee-stained sweatshirt. She sighed, and glanced back at the computer screen.

After a few clicks, she said, "I believe she'll be released soon. You can wait for her in the lobby." Beck ran his hands through his long locks self-consciously and made his way back into the waiting room. He paced back and forth around the low coffee tables, not bothering to sit in one of the empty chairs. At last, he saw a figure dressed in all black turn the corner into the room.

"Jade!"

Her clothes were rumpled and her hair was in tangles, and she looked a little paler than usual, but she appeared to be otherwise unharmed. The doctor came out behind her and gave her a pat on the back before moving past her to address another patient. Jade continued to walk slowly across the room, her phone in hand. She stopped short at the sight of Beck, and quickly averted her eyes and sped up her pace.

"Wait, Jade!" Beck said, stepping in front of her. She ducked around him and he reached out for her wrist.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, slapping his hand away. Beck stared at her, taking in the puffiness of her eyes.

"I–did you see...?" he stammered. Jade rolled her eyes and held up her phone. On the screen, in large black letters, was the headline Beck had seen only twenty minutes before: **Hot-Shot Writer Caught Cheating: Beck Oliver Seen Locking Lips With Pop-Star Tori Vega!**

"Nice one, _Hot-Shot,_ " Jade sneered, shoving her phone into her pocket.

"Jade, wait, you don't understand," Beck said.

"You're right, I don't. And I don't think I want to," she snapped, brushing past him.

"Please, Jade, I'm sorry–"

Jade held up her hand. "Don't!" she cried. Her voice broke as she muttered, "Don't fucking apologize to me, Beck." She hurried out of the waiting room, leaving Beck frozen in place.

He made it back to his apartment, and slammed the door shut. Bells jumped up from her place on the floor and ran into the next room as Beck sent his coffee table toppling over with a thud. He ignored the searing pain that was now shooting up his leg from the kick, and wrenched his phone out of his pocket.

Hands shaking, he copied the link from SplashFace and pasted it into a text message to Andre: **Well, I'm screwed. So much for figuring out my feelings.**

Not bothering to make sure the message sent, he flung his phone down onto the couch and watched it bounce to the floor before sitting down and throwing his head into his hands.

* * *

 **AN:** **Hello! I'm back! So sorry for the long wait; finals and end of the year work really piled up, but it's officially summer break for me now, so I can finally finish this story! It's almost done, so expect the last few chapters within a week or so. Thanks for the patience! I really appreciate all of my readers (:**


	11. Chapter 11

Beck ran his hands through his hair, but no matter how aggressive his movements, he couldn't seem to get it to lie just right. He cursed at the mirror on the wall and want back to pacing in the living room. Of course his hair had to be uncooperative at a time like this.

His steps were interrupted with a vigorous knock on his door. He jumped, startled, and wiped his sweaty palms on the front of his pants before making his way across the room. The knocking became louder and more frantic.

"Chill out, I'm coming!" he called, wrenching the door open to reveal–

" _Andre?!_ "

"The one and only!" said Andre, cracking a grin. "You gonna open this door and let me in or what?" Beck blinked at his friend.

"Uh...sure?" He opened the door wider, and Andre hurried past him, maneuvering two large suitcases into the apartment. Beck shut the door, still gaping at him.

"Sweet place, dude," Andre said, dusting his hands off and looking around.

"Wait, what the _hell_ are you even doing here?" Beck blurted. Andre put a hand over his heart.

"That's hurtful," he said, shaking his head.

"Were you not recording and album in Florida, like, two days ago?" Beck asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah, but I could tell by that text message that you're in a funk. So Andre's here to help! By the way, what happened to your hair?"

Beck frowned. "Apparently it mirrors my life. 'Funk' is putting it lightly. I have a meeting with my boss today, which will likely be my last meeting ever with him."

"What about Cruella de Vil?" Andre asked, bending down to pet a very curious Bells.

"She's been talking all sorts of shit about me to the press. Not that she needs to, because I've already been painted a cheater, but she's been milking the attention for all it's worth," Beck responded.

"And Jade?"

Beck sighed and slumped his shoulders. "She won't even talk to me."

"At least you know she had feelings for you, too, then!" Andre said, his smile slipping when he saw Beck's expression. He cleared his throat awkwardly and straightened up. "Uh, anyway... that's why I'm here, man. We're gonna fix this, don't worry."

"No offense, because I really appreciate that you came all the way out here for me, but what exactly can you do? I've pretty much screwed myself over beyond repair," Beck pointed out.

"Are you telling me you're just giving up?" Andre asked, folding his arms.

"Well, my career's kinda done for right now, so..."

"Pathetic."

"What?"

Andre clucked his tongue and shook his head. "The Beck Oliver I knew in high school would never just _give up_ because of a setback or two. You were always the cool, calm one, man. I guess fame and success have changed you. You've gone soft."

Beck blinked. "Hold on, I am not 'soft!'"

"Soft," Andre repeated. Beck narrowed his eyes.

"That's low."

"So is sitting around moping about your girl troubles."

"Dude! My job is on the line!"

Andre grabbed Beck by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. "YOU ARE BECK OLIVER!" he shouted. Ignoring Beck's attempts to shush him, he continued, "Dude, you're twenty-two. There'll be other jobs. You'll get back on your feet doing something else. Drama blows over in the press." He took a breath. "And I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's not the same when it comes to Jade West. There are a lot of other girls in the world, man. But there's only one Jade. So you need to figure out what you're gonna do."

Beck opened his mouth to respond as his phone beeped from the kitchen counter. He glanced at his watch. "Well, first I'm gonna go talk to my boss and try not to get shot," he said, grimacing. "But...thanks. For everything."

"Of course," Andre said. "By the way, Tori texted me about what happened, and she feels really bad. I think you should talk to her. Or at least, ya know, answer her texts."

"I don't know if that's a good idea..."

"Trust me man," Andre interrupted. "I think it would be good if you talked to her."

"I'll think about it. But right now, I'm gonna go sort things out at work." Beck pulled his jacket off the coat rack and shrugged it onto his shoulders.

"Good luck," Andre said.

"Thanks, I'll need it."

* * *

Beck managed to avoid the reporters on the front steps of the Weston building, yet his heart was still racing. He took slow breaths as he rode the elevator to the third floor, where he was to meet Mr. Weston in Conference Room B. As he approached the double doors of the room, he heard raised voices that stopped almost immediately when he knocked.

"Enter!"

He pushed one of the doors open and stepped in tentatively. Sitting near the center of the long conference table was an irritated-looking Mr. Weston with several files of papers in front of him. Behind him, leaning over the files, was Jeremy Daniels, who looked up and smiled when Beck entered. Mr. Weston, however, did not have a similar reaction; gone were his warm, friendly smiles, and in their place, a stony glare.

"Beck, come on in and have a seat," Mr. Daniels said, gesturing to the chair across from them. Beck strode quickly to the seat, not daring to meet Mr. Weston's eyes though he knew they were watching his every move.

"Sir," Beck greeted him. Mr. Weston nodded curtly and turned to look up at Mr. Daniels.

"Thanks for meeting with Mr. Weston, Beck," Mr. Daniels began. "He called me here to assist in dealing with the matter at hand. As you know, there's been quite the scandal surrounding you and that singer,"–he glanced at one of the papers in front of him–"Tori Vega. Mr. Weston is most displeased with how this reflects on the company, the movie, and of course, his daughter's well-being. But I've convinced him to hear you out before he makes his final decision on what to do."

Beck felt some relief surge through him. "Thank you," he said quickly. He turned to Mr. Weston, finally making eye contact. "Sir, firstly I just want to apologize. I understand that my actions have damaged the reputation of your company and the movie, as well as your daughter's feelings, but it was completely inadvertent. I also want to make clear that Tori kissed me, not the other way around." He swallowed, and continued, "Although I may have been unhappy with my relationship with Brie at the time, it was never my intention to cheat on her. Tori caught me completely by surprise, and I apologize again for the trouble I've caused. I will accept whatever consequence you deem fit for this situation, but please know that I never wanted to hurt your daughter or your company." He took a breath as he finished, and looked nervously at Mr. Daniels, whose face was unreadable.

After a minute, Mr. Weston sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Look, Beck..." Beck's stomach sank. Then, Mr. Weston continued, "I believe you."

Beck's eyebrows shot up. "Sir, I–"

Mr. Weston held up his hand and Beck fell silent. "I'm serious. I believe you. I know you're a good kid, Beck, and I know you would never intentionally hurt anyone no matter how upset you may have been with them. But the fact of the matter is that the damage is done. The movie's a mess with the press, and Brie is taking every opportunity to make sure this story stays in the media. It's just detrimental at this point to keep you on this movie, so I'm going to have to let you go."

Beck nodded. "I understand, sir," he said.

"However," Mr. Daniels cut in, a smile playing on his lips, "I do have another offer for you, if you're interested. I've got a friend over at Schneider Productions who's looking for a young, hot writer. When this story blows over, I'm pretty sure I can pull a few strings to get you on board for a new TV show, if you're interested. It wouldn't hurt if you'd be willing to do some acting, as well."

"Mr. Daniels, that sounds _incredible_ ," Beck exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"

"Like Mr. Weston said, you're a good kid, Beck. You've got potential. Let me take care of burying this story, and look for my email within a few months," Mr. Daniels replied. Beck stood up to shake his hand, as well as Mr. Weston's.

"Thank you both, so much," Beck repeated. "This means so much to me." He hurried out of the Weston building, eager to get back to his apartment to tell Andre the news.

* * *

When Beck turned the corner in the hall of his apartment building, he stopped short at the sight of a girl standing in front of his door.

"Tori?"

She looked up at him. "Beck! I thought you were in your apartment! I...that's why I came here. Except I couldn't decide how to knock so I thought maybe I'd just...um, stand here and think about it." She paused. "I wanted to talk to you, though. You haven't been answering my calls or texts and I get why, but I really want to explain myself, if that's okay."

Beck approached her and leaned against the wall in front of her. "Alright, go ahead."

Tori took a deep breath. "I pretty much already gave this speech to Jade, and it's a wonder that she didn't murder me beforehand, but I kinda figured everything out once I saw how angry Jade was. I didn't realize you two still had feelings for each other, after all this time, and I didn't mean to come between you...again. Honestly, I didn't know what was going to come out of us kissing. It's just...I always sort of had feelings for you back in high school, and I guess seeing you again made me remember that. So I just went for it, not knowing what was going to happen or what I wanted to happen. But after thinking about it for the past couple days, I guess I realized that I'd much rather have you as a friend again, Beck. I liked having you just be there for me, because you're an incredible friend and an incredible guy and I know I completely screwed things up for you and Jade and with your job and everything. And I'm definitely sure that I'm over those feelings now, because losing you as a friend is a lot worse than not being able to date you or whatever. So I'm really really really sorry about how things turned out, and I just wanted you to know that."

Beck raised an eyebrow at her, then smiled. "I get it. I was confused at first, too, seeing both of you. But what I feel for Jade goes a lot deeper, and I hope you understand that. It's like I said–I'll always love you as a friend, Tori, and that's it."

Tori sighed with relief. "I totally get it," she said. "So...we cool?"

Beck nodded. "Yeah, we're cool." He wrapped his arms around her, and they stood together, hugging in the hallway, until suddenly Tori shoved him away and exclaimed, eyes wide:

"Dude! You have to go talk to Jade! She's probably still at the hotel right now!"

"Shoot, thanks!" Beck said. He sprinted down the hall and back into the elevator, his heart pounding once more.

* * *

"Okay, I swear, if _one more_ reporter comes knocking on my door I will–oh. It's you."

"Hey," Beck said breathlessly, giving a small wave. Jade stood staring at him, the door slightly ajar. "Can we talk?" he asked.

"I'm not in the mood for another sappy apology. Vega did plenty of that earlier," Jade snapped, moving the close the door. Beck held his hand up, pressing the door back.

"Please?"

Jade rolled her eyes and opened the door wider, letting him in. "Make it quick." She stepped back and folded her arms, watching him expectantly.

"Okay, I know you said you don't want a sappy apology, but that's only half of why I'm here so please bear with me." He took a breath. "There's nothing between me and Tori. We're friends, and that's it. And I'm sorry about how messy things got, but that's done. I'm sorry."

"Alright, and?" Jade said.

"What?"

"You said the apology was only half of it. So what's the other half?"

"Oh, right." Beck moved forward and took Jade's hands in his. She tried to move out of his grasp, but he gave her a pleading look. "Look, I know how much you hate cheesy, romantic things. I know that because we were together for three years. I also know that those three years were some of the best times of my life, because of you. I know we ended things mutually, but seeing you again made me realize that letting you go might have been the biggest mistake ever, besides this whole mess, of course. And I know that what I feel is a whole lot more than just resurfacing feelings from the past. I've missed you. And I still love you."

Jade looked at him and scoffed. "After all this time, you've become even more cliche than ever."

"Jade," Beck said. Her eyes softened at the sound of her name on his lips. "I want to give us another shot."

She looked down and sighed. "I swore I'd never let anyone make me feel the same way you did, Beck. 'Cause it hurt way too much when it ended. But the truth is...I think I still love you, too."

Beck's face broke into a grin, and he swept her into his arms, kissing her passionately. She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing closer to him. After a moment, they both pulled apart for air.

"God, I've missed you," Beck muttered against her neck. Jade leaned back to look him in the eye.

"Me too," she smirked. She leaned towards him again, stopping only an inch from his lips. "But for the record, I'm still mad at you," she breathed. Beck chuckled.

"I'd expect nothing less."

* * *

 **AN: Hello! I was originally going to post this as two separate chapters, but I decided to just make it one long update. Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry if it seems a bit rushed that everything got basically fixed in one day in this story, but I wanted to wrap everything up quickly before the last chapter. The epilogue is coming soon, but in the meantime, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate all the feedback I've gotten, as this _is_ my first published fic. Much love!**


	12. Epilogue

_(One month later...)_

"Where are you?!"

Beck couldn't help but smile at the sound of his girlfriend's voice over the phone. "In the elevator," he replied.

"Good," Jade said. "You said you'd watch the remake of _The Scissoring_ with me tonight."

"I know, I remember," Beck said. "I'll be there in thirty seconds." He hung up as the elevator dinged, and stepped out into the hallway. His keys jingled as he pulled them out of the pocket of his jeans and opened the door to his and Jade's new apartment.

There was a sudden shuffle and a thump, and a male voice cried out in the dark, "Ouch!"

"What the–?" Beck flicked the apartment lights on, revealing a very frantic-looking Robbie Shapiro, standing in the middle of the living room, turning around wildly.

"Beck! I mean, uh–SURPRISE!"

"Way to blow it, Shapiro," Jade scoffed from where she was sitting on the sofa, laughing at Beck's bewildered face.

She stood up and made her way over to him as three more figures popped up from behind the couch, chorusing a very late "SURPRISE!" Beck blinked as Tori, Andre, and Cat struggled to file out from the space between the couch and the wall.

"Beck!" Cat squealed, running over to hug her friend. Beck stared at Jade, who was still grinning at him.

"Why didn't you tell me we were having guests?" he asked.

"She planned it!" Cat exclaimed. "She said we all had to come out to San Francisco and celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?" Beck asked.

"Well, for starters, we figured we hadn't properly congratulated you on breaking free from your last relationship a month ago," Andre explained.

"I brought champagne!" Robbie interjected, earning stares from everyone except Cat, who giggled fondly at him.

" _And,_ " Tori continued, "Jade told us about your new job!"

"Yeah, congrats on the new TV show!" Cat said. The others chimed in their words of congratulations.

"I'm glad things worked out well in the end," Robbie agreed. "Especially with all that drama with Brie."

"Yeah, Brie sure tried to drag that story out for as long as possible, but I guess it flipped on her when word got out that she'd actually been cheating on me for a year with a bunch of different guys that work in her Dad's office," Beck chuckled.

"At least the stuff about you blew over," Tori said. Beck nodded.

"Well anyway, thanks for coming out here, guys," he said. "It's really great to see you all, and it means a lot to me that you guys wanted to come celebrate. I've missed you all."

"Alright, alright, before Mr. TV Man gets all heartfelt speech on us, let's crack open that champagne!" Andre interrupted, gesturing at the bottle Robbie was clutching. Beck laughed, as everyone nodded in agreement.

"Cat, come help me grab the glasses!" Tori said.

"Kay kay!"

Beck watched as the two girls rushed towards the kitchen. He turned towards Jade and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her to his chest.

"Thank you for planning this," he murmured into her hair. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't drop all your heartfelt speech stuff on me," she replied. "But you're welcome. I figured you deserved it, and that we could all use a little celebration."

"They aren't all staying overnight, right?" Beck asked, eyeing Andre and Robbie as they struggled to get the bottle open.

"Why, did you have plans for tonight?" Jade asked, smirking up at him.

"Maybe, but those plans only involve you," he said in a low voice, his breath hot on her ear.

Before Jade could reply, Tori and Cat returned, balancing champagne flutes in their arms.

"Just in time! We just got the champagne open!" Robbie exclaimed.

" _I_ did," corrected Andre.

" _He_ did!" Robbie echoed, taking a glass from Cat. Once the glasses were passed out and filled, Beck raised his in the air.

"What are we toasting to?" Robbie asked.

"Here's to...freedom?" Andre suggested.

"Friends!" Cat cried.

"Following your dreams!" Tori said, prompting an eye-roll from Jade.

Beck looked around at his friends. "Sure, we can toast to all of those things," he said. He looked at Jade. "And us." He gestured to the entire group with his glass. "All of us."

The gang whooped and cheered and downed their drinks. Beck looked out the window, where the sun was just setting over the skyline of San Francisco.

"Wondering what the future holds?" Jade asked, eyeing his thoughtful look. He turned back to her and shook his head.

"Nope," he said. "I like where I am right now."

 _The End_

* * *

 **AN: ...and that officially concludes this story! Once again, I really appreciate everyone who took the time to read this, and of course everyone who reviewed. Hopefully I'll be back with more fics in the future. In the meantime, let me know if you've got any requests! Much love :)**


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